Sports Ministry orders inquiry into Asian Youth Games fiasco

New Delhi: Taking a stern view on the issue of 17 Indian athletes being disqualified from Nanjing Youth Asian Games, the Sports Ministry ordered an inquiry to fix responsibility on the officials for the fiasco which had brought embarrassment to the country.

Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General Jiji Thomson has been asked to probe the case and submit a report to the Sports Ministry. He will also inquire into the case of four Indian badminton players being thrown out of the Youth Games as their names were not included in the entry list.

"The Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Jitendra Singh has observed with considerable disquiet media reports that 17 Indian track and field athletes were not allowed to participate in the ongoing Asian Youth Games in Nanjing, China for being above the stipulated age of 17 years. The 17 athletes were part of a 27 member delegation selected by the Athletics Federation of India," the ministry said in a release.

"The Minister has also taken note of similar media reports that 4 Indian badminton players will also be returning back as their names were not included in the entry list at the games. The Minister has asked Director General, Sports Authority of India (SAI) to conduct an inquiry into both the incidents and fix the responsibility on the individuals responsible for the lapses," it said.

"The Minister has also directed DG, SAI to put in place a mechanism so that such incidents do not occur in future," the statement added.

In a major embarrassment for the country, 17 Indian track and field athletes were barred from taking part in the Asian Youth Games after the AFI, in a goof-up, included 17 overage players in the list of 27.

Only Under-17 athletes -- those born in January 1997 or later -- were eligible to take part in the Asian Youth Games but the AFI included 17 athletes who were born in 1996 in the team.

Just two days back, four Indian badminton players found out that their names were not sent by the Badminton Federation of India for their respective events and landed in Nanjing only to return home without taking part in the Games.